Pilot Veikko Härmälä of Finnish Air Force

Captain Veikko Härmälä of the 2nd Flight of the 6th Naval Aviation Squadron of the Finnish Air Force in the cockpit of a captured Soviet-made SB-2M-103 reconnaissance bomber in flight over the Gulf of Finland, June 1944. Photographer: Niilo Helander.

 

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1657759404409476/?__cft__[0]=AZW-WKN084Jvvwzs7qGLPAjaESj1H93QqhVQBwkTwdUB_y7JjOQfwQwGudkaO_QVotMkBvAlELxtcv0Ropqbu-qERMg8Wzuf6ZJjcUJSg4DXg5ej0huDhelD_79E2Dh78o0iWU9fGgqgQe24RwsZ20S81cNwEEaL6Ow0_uLeAfvmJ0CiRJEKerfu6a8Ksr1N0IU&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
http://sa-kuva.fi/neo?tem=webneofin

Finnish Bombers at Luonejärvi

Bombers of the 17th training squadron of the Finnish Air Force at the Luonejärvi airfield. Finland, March 28-30, 1944. Photographer: Niilo Helander.

 

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1657767927741957/?__cft__[0]=AZWfu-HJ9ckr94TdnGR7xPWM2mhbrmmz_h6DaSpdELcOpJ1wgzMNZ-VGjPgKLZRYrAHA1zfq_nfbcrV3ELaNs--JFJgpwMGF30sQ9uHXezgf7z7eMBOfPNzshlSqQaC-V0kVuJrOpnZiQ-J5PC6FSgLl0aZZl0CQU66e3n6lgG_LTo7ZRf9cRYeLwSiIMuXESYU&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
http://sa-kuva.fi/

A Curtiss Hawk Squad of Finnish Air Force

A Curtiss squad from the 1st Finnish Flight Regiment, over the Aunus Isthmus in an image taken on 18 October 1943. After the fall of France, Germany agreed to sell captured Curtiss Hawk fighters to Finland in October 1940. In total, 44 captured aircraft of five subtypes were sold to Finland with three deliveries from 23 June 1941 – 5 January 1944. Not all were from the French stocks, 13 were initially sold to Norway and captured when the Germans conquered that country. The aircraft were given serial codes CU-501 to CU-507 (A-4 submodel with Cyclone) and CU-551 to CU-587 (all other submodels with Twin Wasp). In Finnish service, the Hawk was well liked, affectionately called Sussu ("Sweetheart"). The Finnish Air Force enjoyed success with the type, credited with 190⅓ kills by 58 pilots, between 16 July 1941 and 27 July 1944, for the loss of 15 of their own. Finnish ace Kyösti Karhila scored 12¼ of his 32¼ victories in the Hawk, while the top Hawk ace K. Tervo scored 14¼ victories. The Finnish Hawks were initially armed with either four or six 7.5mm machine guns. While sufficient during the early phase of the Continuation War, the increasing speeds and armor of Soviet aircraft soon showed this armament was not powerful enough. From 1942, the State Aircraft Factory replaced the fuselage machine guns with either one or two .50 in (12.7 mm) Colt machine guns and installed two or four .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in each wing. The 12.7mm Berezin UB or LKk/42 heavy machine guns were also used. The installation of heavier armament did not change the very good flying characteristics of the fighter, but the armament was much more effective against Soviet aircraft. The Finnish Hawks were also equipped with Revi 3D or C/12D gunsight. Surviving Finnish aircraft remained in service with the FAF aviation units HLeLv 13, HLeLv 11 and LeSK until 30 August 1948, when the last operational Finnsh Hawks were put into storage. In 1953, the stored aircraft were scrapped.

Source :

Book "Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941-45" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtanen and Chris Birks 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_P-36_Hawk#Finland

A Morane-Saulnier MS.406 Fighter of Finnish Air Force

An Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) Morane-Saulnier MS.406 fighter of 1.Lentue/Lentolaivue 28 (1st Flight, No. 28 Squadron) at Viitana base, near Äänislinna in 1942. A more modern type of Finnish fighter that saw service during the Winter War (1939-1940) was the heavy Morane Saulnier MS.406, which was slow and lightly armed. France donated 30 of these aircraft. They reached combat readiness in February 1940 and achieved 14 aerial victories. During the Interim Peace and Continuation War, a further 57 were purchased from Germany. The MS.406 suffered heavy losses due to its poor performance, and was recommended for shelving as early as 1942. This was unfeasible because of the overall lack of aircraft, so modification and modernisation efforts were undertaken instead. The results were underwhelming, to say the least.

Source :
Book "Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter & Toni Wirtanen

Finnish Bristol Blenheim Coming in for a Landing

British made Bristol Blenheim light bomber aircraft of Finnish Air Force coming in for a landing on Luonetjärvi airfield (now Jyväskylä Airport), between 28 March 1944 and 31 March 1944. The yellow stripe at the tail of this Finnish plane was the designation for the German Eastern Front. The British-made Bristol Blenheim light bomber represented the 1930s mindset that newer bombers would be protected from fighter attack by their increased speed. Finland’s interest in this model grew during the early 1930s and they received their first Blenheims in 1937. By that time it had become apparent that the Blenheim’s speed advantage, compared to modern fighters, had already vanished. Additionally, the plane’s defensive armament, consisting of one or two wingmounted, forward facing machine guns, and one machine gun operated by a rear gunner, was insufficient for the demands of the time.

Source :
Book "Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter & Toni Wirtanen
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:SA-kuva

A Finnish Air Force Bristol Blenheim Bomber on snowy airfield

A Finnish Air Force Bristol Blenheim bomber of Nr.17 Squadron on snowy airfield in Luonetjärvi, Finland, 31 March 1944.  In 1936, the Finnish Air Force ordered 18 Blenheim Mk Is from Britain and two years later, they obtained a manufacturing license for the aircraft. Before any aircraft could be manufactured at the Valtion lentokonetehdas (State Airplane Factory) in Finland, the Winter War broke out, forcing the Finns to order more aircraft from the UK. A further 24 British-manufactured Blenheims were ordered during the Winter War. After the Winter War, 55 Blenheims were constructed in Finland, bringing the total number to 97 aircraft (75 Mk Is and 22 Mk IVs). The Finns also received 20 half-completed ex-Yugoslavian Mk IV Blenheims captured by Germany, together with manufacturing tools and production equipment, as well as a huge variety of spare parts. Yugoslavia had ceased production of the Mk I and commenced a production run of Mk IVs just prior to the April 1941 invasion. The Finnish Blenheims flew 423 missions during the Winter War, and close to 3,000 missions during the Continuation War and Lapland War. Blenheim machine-gunners also shot down eight Soviet aircraft. Thirty-seven Blenheims were lost in combat during the wars. After the war, Finland was prohibited from flying bomber aircraft by the Paris Peace Treaty, with Finland's Blenheims being placed into storage in 1948. However, in 1951, five Blenheims were re-activated for use as target tugs, with the last flight of a Finnish Blenheim taking place on 20 May 1958.

Source :
http://daywarphoto.blogspot.co.id/2014_04_01_archive.html
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?107770-Vintage-pic-thread-55/page8